Utah Jazz waive point guard Jamaal Tinsley

In the weeks leading up the 2013-2014 NBA season, it looked as if veteran point guard Jamaal Tinsley could be on the outside looking in with regard to an NBA roster spot. Then, lottery pick and Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke went down with a long-term injury, opening up a perfect landing place for Tinsley, who played in Utah last season.

However, it was apparently not the “match made in heaven” that we all assumed.

Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune is reporting (and it has now been confirmed by multiple sources) that the Jazz have elected to waive the 35-year-old veteran point guard. For me, this isn’t a complete shock, simply because of how poorly Tinsley has played (we’ll come back to this) and how bad the Jazz are at 0-8, but the timing is certainly interesting. Normally, veterans don’t get waived outright this early in the year, and that alone brings a bit of an element of surprise.

The on-court play of Tinsley has been ghastly, however, and that is certainly the culprit for the two parties parting ways. In 13.8 minutes per game, Tinsley is shooting an abominable 20% from the field (and he’s 1 for 15 from 3-point distance), and his PER of 2.31 is reflective of how plainly bad he has been this season.

Is this the end of the line for Tinsley in the NBA? It’s certainly possible. I wouldn’t rule out a return for him to a point guard-starved team, but in the glimpse that we saw this season, I’m not sure that Jamaal Tinsley is still an NBA point guard at this age.